The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-11-22
AT HACIENDA DEL NORTs.
Edward yilo and the Little woman
Leave Buena Vista for that Place.
Especial Correspondence

we took rooms at u regular Mexican
inn. and as usual suffered from Iei,s ana
other nameless vermin. and rose in the
morning feeling sleepy and out OF sorts
generally, but the little woman bright
eued up as soon as she heard thai
there was b be a wedding across the
street in the evening and also by finding
a pretty little boy with q half a shirt on,
who consented 10 stand still with ms
finger in his mouth while she drew his
portrait.
As soon as breakfast was over we sat
down ON the stone edge Of the dried up
fountain in the court yard and she sub
mitted with the best grace in the world
~ have her clothes examined by the Sc
noritas and senOras OF the place, who
flocked about her like pigeons. They
looked at her dress and felt her trim littie
waist. evidently puzzled by the whale.
bones. They examined the stitches ana
expressed disapprobatlon, and then eN-
tended their researches 80 FAR as 10 want
10 see the trimming Of her petticoats, and
as she said afterwards
81 had 10 draw the line inst there, Ed
ward. never saw anybody 50 curious
in my life. -
Iyentured to suggest that she had done
pretty much the same thing with their
clothes. but she Indignantly answered:
Its no such thing Besides ] nm here
10 study the natives, and, oh, Edward
there's boy with a centipede and tar
antula. You must buy them az any price
only be sure they are dead, or y0u can
have them killed, you know, but be care
full. they might bite and they say there Is
no cure for their bites except you can get
some Of their own oil, and | don't know
how one could do that before they were
dead or I'm time 10 cure the bite, so do be
careful.
went ont and bought them both Ike
dutiful spouse, and they were dead
both of them, but IL took her about TWEEN
". four hours to feel sure of the fact
And now we are az Hacienda del Norte.
We did not 60 in the diligencia when we
left Buena Vista, for rs we were about Il
engage our places some one remarked II
our hearing that once when be rode Owe
the mountains in a diligence there was Q
woman and child afflicted with smallpox
among the passengers, and at once the
little woman's loving watchfulness caused
her to say:
Edward, | give up. will not allow
you 10 be exposed 10 The horrors Of con
tacion. could never forgive myself II
YOU caught that horrible disease. Take
private conveyance if you will, and we
win take our risk together, but ! will
never consent 10 your going in diligen-
cia. If you should get scalped wig
could be bought, but nothing can ever
hide the traces Of smallpox | shall never
fail in my duty, Edwma."
Inwardly chuckling | engaged a sort OF
vehicle with two why mustangs a driver
aud an Outrider or major dOmO, or what
ever they call them, and we started early.
Our express stipulation with the driver
and our man Friday was that whenever
we came TO fine bit Of scenery we were
to halt a. long rs we wished, and twice
we told them to stop, but in the first in
stance the horses were going up hill and
couldn't. and the next time they were
going down hill and they daren't and
when we reached plateau where there
was n view Of almost unparalleled extent
we were grayely told that 1T is not
customary, -" and l knew that 1t would be
an absolute physical and moral impossi-
! bility 10 break that adamaDtine Laws -
/ custom.
We made, however, hurried sketches,
and hoped for y better chance 10 catch
! something Of the exquisite beauty OF the
atmospheric effects.
No one knows what hard riding means
until he tries TO traverse Mexican noun
tain road. | was afraid that the little
woman would be shaken 70 bits. We had
been told beforehand that this was Il
good road for birds, and | had I'M
patked my shotgun, but at last | dis
covered that those words siguiied that
the birds were the Only ones who could
travel il with comfort, still we bore up
bravely until sunset when we reached
our first stopping place, which was q
ranch where the owners received strangers.
Aud they did receive strangers in the
biblical sense Of the word. They took rs
into their inner circle. To their hearts aud
genuine hospitality. The little woman
was almost dead with fatigue, and the
women gathered around her, took of her
dusty wrap brushed her hair, bathed her
!lce and hands, brought her warm milk
10 drink and figs 10 eat and laid her dOyn
upon u wonderful bed 10 rest, all The
while uttering the most caressing and the
tenderest words, like mothers lowering
over sick children.
We have now been three days AT this
hacienda, rs il really Is instead Of a
rancho, and made several excursions tc
favorite points of view, guided by Don
Manuel, who, though but an uneducated
Mexican, proves to have an artistic eye
Tor natural beauty.
| had a slight accident this morning
which kept me In bed for couple OF
hours while the little woman mended my
clothes. went ont with Don Manuel tC
Try and shoot few birds, but my feet
slipped in some way and ] rolled down
the side Of the hill amidst perfect ava
lanche Of stones aud dust, and landed
fair and square into n thorny mesquil
thicket. which left me in such state that
even The dogs baTked at me when go
back to the hacienda.
Yet In spite of the figure cut not on,
single person laughed at me except n LITTLE
gray burro who laid his ears back an(
gave one long and loud haw hawl
And now that we are ready to leave w
have had all we could do to persuade ia,
family to accept any pay for our accom-
mediation, and the women have been EN-
braciug and crying like sisters.
W.